F. Murray Abraham was born in 1939 in Pittsburgh. He made his movie debut in the George C. Scott movie “They Might Be Giants”. He won an Oscar for “Amadeus” in 1984. Other films include “The Big Fix”, “Scarface”, The Name of the Rose” and “A House Divided”
IMDB entry:
Was educated at the University of Texas.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and brought up in El Paso, Texas. His father, Frederick Abraham, who was born in Pennsylvania, was from an Assyrian Christian (Antiochian) family, from Syria. His mother, Josephine (Stello) Abraham, was also born in Pennsylvania, to Italian parents.
In July 2004, during a ceremony in Rome, he was awarded the “Premio per gli Italiani nel Mondo”. This is a prize distributed by the Marzio Tremaglia foundation and the Italian government to Italian emigrants and their descendants who have distinguished themselves abroad.
Early in his career, he was one of the “Fruit of the Loom guys” (men dressed up as fruits) in the underwear commercials.
Has two children with his wife Kate Hannan: Mick and Jamili Abraham.
Studied drama under the tutelage of Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City for a year in the early 1960s.
After his Academy Award for Amadeus (1984), he turned down roles in films such as Clue(1985) and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986).
He filmed Scarface (1983) in Los Angeles at the same time as Amadeus (1984) in Prague, necessitating four round trip flights between the two.
One of his first plays in Los Angeles was a dramatization of a work by Ray Bradbury: “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”. He and Bradbury remained friends until Bradbury’s death.
Attended and graduated from El Paso High School in El Paso, Texas in 1958.
He continues to teach drama classes at Brooklyn College in New York City.
His first major success as an actor was as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1984) at age 45.
Learned to play the piano and to conduct for his role of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus(1984).
The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.
